David Adjmi’s play is a shoo-in for The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Theatre Division. It’s a searingly authentic portrayal of the talented but tormented personalities of an Anglo/American rock band as they struggle to record their ‘difficult’ second album. Set in 1976/1977 in a recording studio in California with a mixing desk and a glass panelled recording booth behind, it is as close to the real thing as it is possible to get. With musical contributions from Will Butler of Arcade Fire, Daniel Aukin’s production plunges us into the stoned, alcohol and cocaine-fuelled world of huge-but-fragile egos, talented musicians, collapsing relationships and internecine jealousies in an era that is one half hippie/one half punk. The British cast – Lucy Karczewski’s shy but talented Diana, Nia Towle’s confident keyboard player Holly, Zachary Hart’s addled bass player Reg and Jack Riddiford as the group’s perfectionist leader, Peter – are joined by American cast members Chris Stack as drummer Simon and Andrew R Butler and Eli Gelb as sound engineers Charlie and Grover who do their best to keep things together from the mixing desk. Overlapping dialogue and naturalistic stop/start conversations are echoed in the constantly interrupted mechanics of recording. Everything is played live by the cast which enhances our engagement with the creative process.
The colliding personalities and the fracturing relationships are both hilariously funny and achingly poignant. Scene after scene takes you by surprise – Reg tumbling through the door barely able to stand until he picks up his bass guitar and keeps perfect time; a pillow-sized bag of cocaine, Simon spending days trying to fix a rattle in his drum kit, Grover the mixing desk underdog who finally has his day. When Holly finally lets rip she sounds like Carole King and Laura Nyro combined. Grounded in the era by cultural references from The Doobie Brothers to Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now, it calls forth a (possibly) fictional group whose early success contributes to their downfall. They spend more time bickering and taking drugs than they do making music. But when they do actually lay down a track or two, they become different people – a sublime musical unit. At these moments, the heart soars. A stupendous night.
Stereophonic is performed at the Duke of York’s Theatre until October 11.